1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for making high purity piperine by removing impurities from oleoresin of the fruit or the plant of the Piperaceae family or any other natural source of alkaloid piperine. Piperine is useful for enhancing the bioavailability of nutritional and/or botanical compounds.
The fifty percent increase in life expectancy of Americans from 1930 to 1980 can, in part, be attributed to the improvement in nutrition in the United States during that period. However, the situation today remains far from ideal, since six out of ten of the leading causes of death in this country, including heart attack, cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, and diabetes, are linked to diet. It becomes increasingly obvious that many of those diseases could be prevented with a well balanced diet and efficient nutritional supplementation with certain vitamins and minerals.
The problem is particularly severe in older Americans. Approximately 30 percent of older Americans do not get the dietary requirements of all the essential nutrients. The hazards of food-drug interactions in depleting essential nutrients are well recognized. It is unavoidable that old age calls for increased use of medications. For example, use of certain antibiotics decreases absorption of calcium and iron, while EDTA chelation therapy decreases absorption of zinc, iron, copper, and magnesium.
In addition, many foods which increase the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease have to be eliminated from the diet, which further depletes the sources of essential nutrients. For example, excellent sources of vitamin B and vitamin D, such as red meat, liver, egg yolk, cheese and dairy products, are often limited because of their high cholesterol content.
Limited menu also causes a depletion of essential amino acids, such as tryptophan, which is important precursor of neurotransmitters, and may play a role in the prevention of brain deterioration with aging.
The availability of essential nutrients is further compromised by poor gastrointestinal absorption, which deteriorates with the advancing age.
The traditional way to offset insufficient nutrient supplementation, insufficient gastrointestinal absorption and insufficient metabolic utilization of essential nutrients is to administer large doses of compensating materials, such as vitamin and mineral supplements.
The present invention provides an alternative method for improving nutritional status by providing high purity piperine which increases the bioavailability of various nutritional materials.
The bioavailability of nutrients is also relevant to animal health as well as human health. Thus, the process of the present invention is also intended to provide piperine be used in veterinary practice.
2. Description of Related Art
Piperine, or mixtures containing piperine, have been shown to increase the bioavailability of nutritional and/or botanical compounds (Majeed et al. (1996), U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,506; Majeed et al. (1998), U.S. Pat. No. 5,744,161). The prior art process of U.S. Pat. No. 5,744,161 isolates piperine from a suitable oleoresin material obtained from the fruit or plant of the Piperaceae family. In contrast, the present invention discloses a process of obtaining piperine by removing organic matter (impurities) other than piperine from the oleoresin obtained from the fruit or plant of the Piperaceae family or other natural source of alkaloid piperine, leaving behind piperine at a high purity. The removal process is achieved by using isourea, urea or a urea derivative. By first removing the impurities instead of isolating piperine, the process of the present invention unexpectedly results in a higher yield of piperine than the prior art process. Compared with the process of the prior art, the process of the present invention also has an additional advantage of providing piperine of higher purity. Thus, the biological activity of piperine obtained by the process of the present invention is more specific than piperine obtained by the prior art process.